April 5, 2013

Detroit Free Press Editorial Page Editor

Mike Duggan filed, officially, to run for mayor of Detroit this week. At least a few others are certain to follow, and I expect there will be hundreds who file to run for the district and at-large seats on the Detroit City Council.

But what are they all running for? Part-time council positions? A mayor's office that pays half what it does now? Will council members have staff?

All of that is unclear, given the presence of Emergency Financial Manager Kevyn Orr and the dramatic restructuring of city government that's on the way.

But if democracy still matters in Detroit (and I say it does, despite the anti-EFM insistence that it has somehow been destroyed), Orr will expedite his decisions about the structure and nature of the city's executive and legislative branches.

Hopefuls need to know, well in advance of the May 14 filing date, exactly what they're signing up for, and how much they'd earn if they win. That's about fairness to the candidates and respect for democracy, which I say still matters even with an emergency financial manager in place. It's also about managing expectations for Detroiters; voters need to know soon whether the city can afford to fund one of the most expensive City Councils in the nation.

Last week, Orr issued an executive order that restored current mayoral and City Council salaries, after they were wiped out when the new emergency financial manager law took effect March 28.

For now, at least, the mayor still makes about $142,000; City Council members are still paid about $73,000.

That was the right move, at least in the short term. Orr needs the mayor and council to help guide his work, and -- perhaps more important -- he needs to keep the city's elected leaders in place so they can retake the reins when he leaves, as soon as 18 months from now.

But there's word already that Orr is considering big changes to those jobs, and that recommendations could come soon to make the council, in particular, more of a part-time gig. Lower pay, less staff. I go back and forth about whether, in general, the council's $10.7-million budget is out of line (most cities are paying less, per capita, for their legislative branches), but in the context of a financial emergency, Orr would be perfectly within reason to decide it's just not the best way to spend limited resources.

That decision will entail putting the council's costs in important context: What would you lose, in terms of service to residents, by cutting members' pay or slashing their staffs? What would you gain by redirecting a large part of that $10.7 million to other ends? It's easy to opine about the answers to those questions, but will be harder -- or at least more time consuming -- for Orr to dutifully evaluate the questions and come up with the best solutions.

But if the financial emergency is an urgent push in Orr's back, the filing deadline for the upcoming election is a violent shove.

Certainly, there are potential candidates whose minds would be changed based on the nature of the City Council jobs. That $73,000 in salary is more than 2.6 times the median household income in the city, and almost five times the per capita income.

People run for public office for many reasons -- some noble, some not. And I've never known anyone who ran just for the paycheck. But in a city where a steady, good-paying job is difficult to come by, money could play a significant role in some people's decisions about seeking a relatively high-paying public office.

Similarly, there may be some candidates for whom a part-time council position, paying much less, would be much more attractive than the full-time job it is right now.

Democracy still matters in Detroit. And this is an election year.

Orr needs to be mindful of the effect his decisions could have on the field of candidates, and respectful of the need to let hopefuls know sooner, rather than later, what the dimensions of their decisions look like.

Stephen Henderson is editorial page editor for the Free Press and host of "American Black Journal," which airs at 1 p.m. Sundays on Detroit Public Television. Follow him on Twitter @ShendersonFreep, or contact him at shenderson600@freepress.com or 313-222-6659.